Modern Marketing With Postcards
by Bob Leduc
Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing. They
produce even better results now than in the past. That's probably because
postcards deliver information the way people want to get it today... fast and
with little or no effort.
Use Postcards to Generate Website Traffic and Sales Leads
A brief captivating message on a postcard with an enticing offer sent to the
right prospects will generate a flood of traffic to your website - or a large
number of sales leads.
Keep your postcard simple. Make it look at first glance like a message from a
friend instead of like an advertisement. This creates a pleasant emotional
response from readers even though they quickly realize that it is a commercial
message.
State the biggest benefit you offer to customers. Then briefly add a few
other advantages or features you provide. End with a compelling reason for
prospects to contact you... or to go to your website for more details. It's that
simple.
Tip: Don't try to close sales directly from a postcard. There's not enough
space on a postcard to provide all the information your prospects need to make a
buying decision.
People Read Postcards
Almost everybody will read a postcard - even those who usually throw out
other direct mail without opening it. That's because it's almost impossible to
throw out a postcard without looking at the message.
This high rate of readership is the main reason why postcards produce a
bigger response than other types of direct marketing. With other types of
marketing you often lose prospects who would have responded to your offer - but
they never saw it.
Tip: Postcards are an excellent low-cost alternative to email. People get so
much email today that even legitimate messages are getting deleted unread. But
they get few if any postcards. Your message is guaranteed to get their attention
when it's delivered on a postcard.
Postcards are Cheap to Produce
Postcards cost less than 2 cents each to produce if you print them using your
own computer. You can print postcards individually on blank 4 x 6 inch index
cards or print 4 postcards on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of index card stock and cut each
sheet into quarters.
Your postcards will cost between 4 cents and 9 cents each to produce if you
use a commercial printer ...depending on the number you have printed and the
quality you want.
Postcards are Cheap to Mail
Even the postage for mailing postcards is cheap to send them
by First Class Mail in the US. The only requirement for this special rate is
that the dimensions of your postcards must be at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but not
over 4 1/4 x 6 inches.
Tip: Always use a real stamp on your postcards. It produces more
replies than a printed indicia (imprinted postage) ...probably because people
associate a printed indicia with junk mail.
Don't overlook postcards the next time you want to drive a huge amount of
traffic to your website or generate a flood of new sales leads. They're simple
to use, highly effective and very low-cost.
Copyright 2004 Bob Leduc
Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of
recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a
Sales Consultant. For more information about *BizTips
from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper, visit his web
site at http://BobLeduc.com or
call: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
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